2023 Travel Manitoba Northern Marketing Plan
Northern Tourism
Northern Manitoba is defined, for tourism purposes, to be the region of Manitoba north of the 53rd parallel. It is a vast territory comprising almost 60% of the land area of Manitoba. The natural assets of the region includes thousands of lakes, vast boreal forest, major tracts of Laurentian Shield, and an Arctic region bordering the Hudson Bay.
Marketing the north
TARGET MARKETS
Primary
• Cultural Explorers
• Authentic Experiencers
Secondary
• Free Spirits
GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS
Primary
• Manitoba
• Canada
• United States (short-haul)
Secondary
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Australia
Northern market initiatives
PUBLICATIONS
Inspiration Guide
• Travel Manitoba’s annual inspiration guide features several sections dedicated to northern experiences. Over 250,000 are produced.
Northern Lure
• Two northern lure pieces will be created to promote iconic seasonal experiences in the North and distributed to targeted audiences.
Northern market initiatives
DIGITAL MARKETING
Website
• Travel Manitoba will continue to populate content on its websites – North of 53, everything Churchill, and the northern sections of travelmanitoba.com and huntfishmanitoba.com. These websites also act as a hub for larger digital and advertising campaigns.
Northern market initiatives
DIGITAL MARKETING
Bandwango
• Leveraging the Bandwango platform, Travel Manitoba will continue to create northern pass experiences to drive traffic through the doors of local businesses and be a hub for e-commerce.
Northern market initiatives
DIGITAL MARKETING
Manitoba Explorer App
• Launched in fall 2022, the Manitoba Explorer app features two dedicated northern trails and already has over 5,500 subscribers to the app.
Northern market initiatives
DIGITAL MARKETING
Social Media
• Travel Manitoba continues to promote the north throughout the year on its various social media channels and blog
Northern market initiatives
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter Campaigns
• Travel Manitoba features the North as a pillar in both campaigns. Tactics include a dedicated landing page, digital and social media ads, and select content media buys.
Northern Lights Campaign
• In partnership with Destination Canada, Travel Manitoba will be featured as a destination for northern lights to five key U.S. markets in fall 2023.
ADVERTISING
Prairie Angling Campaign
• In partnership with Destination Canada and Tourism Saskatchewan, Travel Manitoba will be featuring northern fishing experiences as part of its overall campaign. Summer and winter experiences will be showcased.
WestJet LAX – YWG Route
• In partnership with Destination Canada and Westjet, a campaign to promote the new direct flight route is running in the California market, with Churchill being the main destination and content featured.
Northern market initiatives
TRAVEL TRADE
LA Trade Sales Trip
• Travel Manitoba will be hosting a trade sales mission in Los Angeles in spring 2023 to promote the direct Westjet route and Churchill experiences.
Sales & Marketing Activities
• Travel Manitoba continues to promote the north in its international trade efforts through business development, FAM trips, and co-op marketing.
Target markets include Canada, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Northern market initiatives
TRAVEL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER RELATIONS
Travel Manitoba’s travel media and influencer relations activities include prospecting, in-person meetings, relationship building, familiarization (FAM) tours, and GSA sales and media efforts. Travel Manitoba will continue to partner with Destination Canada to expand reach and leverage resources.
Business Development
• Travel Manitoba will identify key media marketplaces and events to promote Manitoba to travel journalists, bloggers, tv shows, travel influencers and content creators.
FAM Trips/Media Trips
• Travel Manitoba will continue to host travel media and influencers from its target markets on curated customized itineraries to encourage and create earned media articles and content.
